Welcome to The Internet of Compromised Things – How not to be hacked, routers

A good write-up by Jeff addresses a problem that has existed for several years, but only recently is starting to get malicious. A few hackers demonstrated how the software running common internet modems and routers were vulnerable to attack. A few good-minded-souls even wrote code to scan the internet; find them; and exploit them to install the update.

Of course, there were those who used those same routers to mine for crypto-currency and others who created attack bot networks. The article highlights how these unprotected devices are hacked and allow for anyone passing traffic through them to be infected with malware on their machine.

For security professionals Jeff raised one point that I thought was a challenge to our industry, and highlighted it below:

Buy a new, quality router. You don’t want a router that’s years old and hasn’t been updated. But on the other hand you also don’t want something too new that hasn’t been vetted for firmware and/or security issues

How ridiculous our world is sometimes … buy a new router, but not too new … but also not too old. HAH… That fails the How not to be hacked, Can you explain it to your grandma test (something I learned in the Head Game). It is valid though … and reflects the challenge of security professionals.